“Creating Markets for Renewable Energy Technologies … · “Creating Markets for Renewable...

“Creating Markets for Renewable EnergyTechnologies EU

RES Technology Marketing Campaign“

Bioethanol Production and Use

Supported by the European Commission - FP6

Brochure produced as part of theProject: RESTMAC

Project Coordinator EREC - European Renewable Energy Council

Project Partners

EWEA - European Wind EnergyAssociation EPIA - European Photovoltaic IndustryAssociation ESHA - European Small HydropowerAssociation AEBIOM - European Biomass Association EUBIA - European Biomass IndustryAssociation EGEC - European Geothermal EnergyCouncil ADEME - Agence de l'Environnement etde la Maîtrise de l'Energie NTUA - National Technical University ofAthensECB - Energy Centre Bratislava GAIA - Consultores en gestion ambientalESTIF - European Solar Thermal IndustryFederation

This publication is supported by the European Commission

and Co-funded by the European Commission under the Sixth

Framework Programme (FP6).

CONTACT NO: TREN/05/FP6EN/S07.58365/020185

Brochure produced by EUROPEAN BIOMASS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION63-65 Rue d'ArlonB-1040 BrusselsTel : +32 2 400 10 20Fax : +32 2 400 10 21 [email protected]

Contents:

1. Introduction 3

2. Bioethanol Production 4- Sugar Cane 4- Cereal Crops 4- Lignocellulosic Bioethanol 5

3. European Bioethanol Production 7

4. Bioethanol Co-Products 7

5. Bioethanol Use 9- Chemicals 9- Transport Fuel 9- Fuel Cells 13

6. Bioethanol Engineering Companies 14

7. Politics & Concluding Remarks 15

8. Project Overview 16

Legal NoticeThe sole responsibility for the contentof this publication lies with theauthors. It does not represent the opi-nion of the Community. The EuropeanCommission is not responsible for anyuse that may be made of the informa-tion contained therein.

Images on front cover from left: TEREOS (Sugar Cane), TEREOS (Bioethanol Plant) and UK Agriculture.com (Wheat).

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, largely in response to uncertain fuelsupply and efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emis-sions, bioethanol (along with biodiesel) has becomeone of the most promising biofuels today and is con-sidered as the only feasible short to medium termalternative to fossil transport fuels in Europe and inthe wider world. The current EU commitment underDirective 2003/30/EC on the promotion of biofuelsfor transport set a target of 5.75% for all transportfuels by 2010. The recent European Commissionrenewable energy roadmap has now increased this to10% by 2020.

There is great political and media attention now focu-sed on biofuels and the issues related to food securi-ty, food prices, effects on biodiversity and perceivedCO2 emission advantages over fossil fuels. Providedthat farmers and plant operators adopt sustainableenergy crop production, thoughtful management andplanning as well as sourcing (where available) ener-gy needs for bioethanol production from waste plantresidues, then there should be no negative environ-mental effect. On the other hand job creation and thedevelopment of rural economies is an importantbenefit of biofuel production. The problems of foodprices and market changes cannot easily be conclu-ded to be due to one factor. For example the price ofoil can affect prices for biofuels. The global marketprice of sugar has a known impact on the price andproduction level of bioethanol.

Bioethanol is seen as a good fuel alternative becausethe source crops can be grown renewably and inmost climates around the world. In addition the use

3RESTMAC - Bioethanol Production and Use

of bioethanol contributes to reducing CO2 emissions.This is achieved because in the growing phase of thesource crop, CO2 is absorbed by the plant and oxy-gen is released in the same volume that CO2 is pro-duced during the combustion of the fuel. This createsan obvious advantage over fossil fuels which onlyemit CO2 as well as other poisonous emissions. In the1970s, Brazil and the USA started mass production ofbioethanol - grown from sugarcane and corn respec-tively. Smaller scale production started more recen-tly in Spain, France and Sweden mostly from wheatand sugar beet.

In recent years the concept of the bio-refinery hasemerged, whereby one integrates biomass conver-sion processes and technology to produce a variety ofproducts including fuels, power, chemicals and feedfor cattle. In this manner one can take advantage ofthe natural differences in the chemical and structuralcomposition of the biomass feed stocks.

The Commission document "An EU Strategy forBiofuels" reports on this concept of the "bio-refine-ry" within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)and it will give it high priority support. The RESTMACproject ("Creating Markets for Renewable EnergyTechnologies EU - RES Technology MarketingCampaign") aims to develop and employ a compre-hensive and well thought-out thematic approach toencourage the uptake of selected RES technologies inthe market. In the framework of RESTMAC project,this brochure will present information about the pro-duction of bio-ethanol and its co-products, but willalso focus the use of bioethanol and it’s developmentin Europe.

Photo sources: top left: TEREOS, top right: TEREOS, bottom left: UK Agriculture.com, bottom right: EUBIA

4 RESTMAC - Bioethanol Production and Use

Sugar CaneToday the processes of milling (cutting of cane intoregular pieces) and raw sugar refining are usuallydone together on one site. During the milling thesugar cane is washed, chopped and shredded byrevolving knives. The shredded cane (20-25cm) isfed into mill combinations which crush and extractthe cane juice. The juice is filtered and pasteurised(treatment of heat to kill micro-bacterial impurities)along with chemicals. Bagasse, the waste matterfrom the cane can be combusted to produce heat andsteam on a self-sufficient basis. The cane juice is fil-tered to remove vinasse - the unwanted non alcoho-lic black-red liquid. Vinasse has been considered aninconvenient waste product and as a burden andenvironmental hazard due to its viscous nature andhigh acid content.

Some uses of vinasse include combustion and use aspotassium fertilisers. After the vinasse is removedthe syrup is then put through evaporation and coo-ling crystallisation. It leaves clear crystals and molas-ses. The molasses are separated from the crystals bycentrifugation. Further pasteurisation and fermenta-tion processes take place before distillation to ahigher concentration of alcohol. Fermentation takesbetween 4-12 hours normally.

Cereal CropsFor starch (cereal) based crops the procedure is simi-lar to sugar crops but with the added process ofhydrolysis to break down the polymers into mono-mers which can then be broken down into simple C6sugars. From the milling of the grain to release thestarch, it is then diluted into water to adjust the volu-me of sugar in the mash. The mixture is cooked withyeast and all the water soluble starches dissolve intothe water. And through either acid hydrolysis orenzymes, the starch is converted into sugars. Theunrefined fermented liquid known as "beer", is pro-duced and through various evaporation and distilla-tion stages fuel grade ethanol can be produced.

2. BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION

The production of bioethanol from traditional means,or 1st Generation Biofuels is based upon starchcrops like corn and wheat and from sugar crops likesugar cane and sugar beet (see the next page forimages of the crops). However, the cultivation ofalternative sugar crops like sweet sorghum opens upnew possibilities in Europe, especially in hotter anddrier regions, such as Southern and Eastern Europe.Sweet sorghum requires less water or nutrients andhas a higher fermentable sugar content than sugarcane as well as a shorter growing period. In someregions, for example Africa, this means that two har-vests a year from the same crop can be harvested. Inaddition, the development of lingo-cellulosic techno-logy has meant that not only high energy contentstarch and sugar crops can be used but also woodybiomass or waste residues from forestry. This deve-lopment is seen as the 2nd Generation of Biofuels.This process is still expensive by comparison to tra-ditional bioethanol production. Bioethanol, or ratherethanol, itself belongs to the chemical family - alco-hols - and has a structure of C2H5OH. It is a colour-less liquid and has a strong odour.

Depending on the biomass source the steps involvedin bioethanol production generally include:

1. Storage2. Cane crushing and juice extraction3. Dilution4. Hydrolysis for starch and woody biomass5. Fermentation with yeast and enzymes6. CO2 storage and ethanol recapture7. Evaporation8. Distillation 9. Waste water treatment 10. Fuel Storage

Abengoa's Ecocarburantes Españoles plant in Cartagena,Spain, produces 100 million litres of bioethanol

Südzucker Bioethanol, based in Mannheim, Germany sup-plies E85 grade bioethanol from their recently commissio-ned plant (Feb 2006) at Zeitz which cost 200 million Euros.It produces 260 million litres of bioethanol a year from highvalue protein feed, mostly wheat.

Lignocellulosic BioethanolThe difference in process steps between starch andlignocellulosic feedstocks is that lignocellulosic bio-mass requires a more complicated hydrolysis stage.The reason for this is that lignocellulosic biomasscontains carbohydrate polymers called cellulose.Cellulose is made up of long chains of glucose and amore complex set of enzymes are required to breakthe long chains. Therefore lignocellulosic bioethanolis technically more demanding and thus more expen-sive. Work at the moment is ongoing to enhance thepre-treatment methods such as steam explosion,ammonia steam explosion, acid processing and syn-thesising more efficient enzymes. Popular feedstocksfor lignocellulosic bioethanol are fast growing treesand grasses such as eucalyptus, hemp and miscan-thus (see next page).

Another area for development is fractionationtechnology so one can use more variable biomass,such as agriculture and forest crop residues andurban waste. The chemical structure of the crop andforest residues are highly variable which createsadded complexity compared to the homogeneity ofstarch or sugar crops.

The concept of the biorefinery is seen as a very pro-mising venture for the future. The diagram on thenext page shows the complexity and substantialpotential available from the production point of view.The possibility of many different co-products andchemicals from lingocellulosic bioethanol productionhas caught some attention.

The costs of large scale production are said to be 8-12 years away from realisation. Much investment isgoing into the enzymatic study of breaking down thecellulosic material and separating it from lignin.Syngenta, a Swiss company, has signed a 10 yearcontract worth $16m with an American company,Diversa, for research and development of enzymesfor biofuels (Bioenergy Business, Feb 2007).


Cereal Crops

MaizeWheat

Barley

Rye

Sugar Crops

Sweet Sorghum Sugar Cane

Sugar Beet


ECOREFINE (Biorefinery) TECNIA, 2007

Ligno-cellulosic Biorefinery Feedstock (LCF)E.g.: Forest Biomass (underwood, wood); Paper and Ligno-cellulosic

Municipal solid waste; Cereals (Straw).

Lignocellulose (LC)

LigninPhenol-polymer

HemicullosePentoses; hexoses

CelluloseGlucose polymer

Natural binderand adhesives

Sulphur-freesolid fuel

Xylose(Pentose)

Plant gumThickeners, adhesives, protectivecolloids, emulsifiers, stabilizers

HydrolysesHydrolyses

E/C

Solid WasteBiomass

SyngasKleingas

Cogeneration

Steam, electricityXylite

Sugar substitute

HMF(5-Hydroxymethil-furfural)

Levulinic Acid

Glucose(Hexose)

Furfural

Furan resins

Chemicalproducts

Nylon 6Nylon 6.6

Softner + solvents

Chemical andpolymers

Fermentation-products:-Organic acids (e.g. lactic acid)-Fuels (e.g. ethanol)

PLA polymer

Triple-effect distillation system

Azeotrope distillation system

Membrane/pervaporationsystem

Ethanol -95%

Alcohol -99,9%

Raw Waste Water & Sludge

Biogas

Biofertilizers

High TemperatureFuel Cells

Cogeneration

Steam, electricity

Steam, electricity

Legend:

Full-scale demonstration

Industrial-scale prototypes

Bench-scale prototypes

Lignocellulosic Biomass

Eucalyptus Tree Miscanthus Hemp Giant Reed

The table above shows the large players in bioetha-nol production in Europe. Abengoa is by far the lar-gest producer, followed by Sauter and Südzucker.SEKAB has an important place in the industry as theyspecialise in lingocellulosic bioethanol technologiesand production. Wood residues from the paper pulpindustry are used as well as surplus wine alcohol asbioethanol feed stocks. This wine usage has beenencouraged by the European Commission in respon-se to the present surplus in the wine industry inEurope.


The wine surplus is expected to last for another 6-7years in the EU. SEKAB also invests in bioethanolplants, especially now in Hungary where they areinvesting 380 € million in four new bioethanol plantsto produce 600 million litres of bioethanol by 2008from mainly maize and partly from wheat. In addition460,000 tonnes of animal feed will be produced as aco-product.

EUBIA & ABENGOA, 2006

Producer Country Capacity(litres/yr) Website Feedstock

Saint-Louis Sucre France 15,000,000 www.saintlouis-sucre.com Beet or molasses

Cristal Union France 120,000,000 www.cristal-union.fr Beet

Tereos France 50,000,000 www.tereos.com Wheat and sugar beet

Südzucker Germany 260,000,000 www.suedzucker.de Wheat

Sauter Germany 310,000,000 www.sauter-logistik.de Rye

Kwst Germany 30,000,000 www.kwst.com Sugar beet or molasses

Abengoa Bioenergy Spain 510,000,000 www.abengoabioenergy.com Wheat

Agroethanol AB Sweden 50,000,000 www.agroetanol.se Wheat

SEKAB (formerlySvensk Etanolkemi) Sweden 100,000,000 www.sekab.se Wood waste and wine

alcohol

www.vet-lyon.fr

3. EUROPEAN BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION

4. BIOETHANOL CO-PRODUCTS

Dried Distillers Grain (DDG) is an important co-product from cereal bioethanol production. It is crea-ted from drying the mash after all useful ethanol hasbeen extracted. It is used as feed for cattle. In addi-tion DDGS, a soluble version of DDG, can be produ-ced by adding water, which is more easily consumedby cattle. DDGS can usually be kept for two to threedays or one week by adding preservatives. The dry,DDG can be stored indefinitely.

"DDGS is a high quality feedstuff ration for dairy cat-tle, beef cattle, swine, poultry, and aquaculture. Thefeed is a partial economical replacement for corn,soybean meal, and dicalcium phosphate in livestockand poultry feeds." (www.ethanol.org)


NC State University

Straw is another important co-product from cerealsand has been used for centuries for various uses.Straw is the waste part of the cereal plant that doesnot contain the grain and it makes up around 50% ofthe plants weight. Historical uses include use forrope, paper, packaging, thatching and bedding. It hasmostly been used for animal feed although recentuses include biofuels in the lignocellulosic path tobioethanol. It can also be used as a substrate for bio-gas production through anaerobic digestion. Strawhas mainly been somewhat of a burden for farmersas they had to dispose of it some way but its appli-cation for bioethanol or biogas means they can sellthis waste as a marketable by-product.

Bagasse is the primary by-product from sugar caneproduction. Bagasse is commonly combusted in boi-lers or cogeneration systems in the sugar industry forthe production of heat in the mill for sugar refiningprocesses and for the production of electricity foreither direct use by the plant or to sell to the natio-nal grid which can increase their overall profit. About35% of the weight of sugar cane becomes bagasse.Brazil, India, China and Thailand are the largest pro-ducers and utilisers of bagasse.

Bagasse is a straw like material left from cane sugar.It can also be used for making agro-pellets which canbe exported as a feedstock for home pellet boilers orco-firing.

Lignin products from lignocellulosic bioethanol pro-duction are highly varied. Due to the nature of theorganic compound they have a unique strength toweight ratio and elastic or adhesive properties.

Lignin is the most important organic compound forstrength between cell walls in plants. Between 1/4and 1/3 of all dry tree mass is made of lignin. It fillscells along with cellulose and some other compoundsand forms covalent bonds between different polysac-charides thereby giving mechanical strength to thewhole plant. Lignin can be used for a variety of usesand in varying sectors.

EUBIA

Companies specialised in Lignin basedproducts:

Borregaard LignoTech USA Inc. www.lignotech.comRayonier Performance Fibers www.rayonier.comTembec www.tembec.caTemple Inland www.myinland.com

See www.lignin.org for more information

The company Borregaard (Norwegian/USA) has arange of products based on vanillin an organic com-pound more commonly known as vanilla in the foodsand perfumes sector. Producing vanilla naturally inthis way is proving more cost effective than the syn-thetic route, i.e. through the petrochemical industry.The natural production of rubber from the plant is agood example as many of its applications cannot besynthesised petro-chemically. Lignin is largely produ-ced as a by-product of the paper industry, separatedduring the pulping process. Through the productionof bioethanol, this opens up a new line of production.

5. BIOETHANOL USE

ChemicalsA number of chemicals are produced in the ethanolindustry and potentially even more in the 2nd gene-ration bioethanol industry, serving a wide range ofuses in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, beveragesand medical sectors as well as for industrial uses.The market potential for bioethanol is therefore notjust limited to transport fuel or energy production buthas potential to supply the existing chemicals indu-stry.

SEKAB co-produce the following chemicals along withFuel Ethanol:

1.

2.


3.

4.

KWST also provide a range of chemicals mixed intomarketable compounds such as:

1.

2.

3.

Transport FuelBioethanol has mostly been used as a biofuel fortransport, especially in Brazil. Indeed it was in Brazilwhere the first bioethanol fuelled cars emerged on alarge-scale. Although generally unknown to the ave-rage consumer who fills up their car with petrol, alarge volume of bioethanol is already used in Europeas it is blended with petrol at 5%. It is used as asubstitute for lead as an oxygenating additive andhas a high octane rating, which improves performan-ce. Although the eventual target is the private consu-mer, only a few regions have good public awareness,namely Sweden and Germany, of bioethanol's pote-nial to, at least, partly replace petrol as a transportfuel in Europe.

Category of Use Explanation / example of Application

Food & Perfumes Flavourings or scent for perfume, e.g. Vanilla (Borregaard)

Binder / glue Fertiliser, plywood, dust suppressants, ceramics

Dispersant Reduces binding with other substances, e.g. Oil Drilling muds, paints, dyes, pigments

Emulsifier Mixes 2 immiscible liquids together, usually for a limited length of time, e.g. the mixingof oil and water

Sequestrant Lignosulfonates can be used for cleaning compounds and for water treatments for boi-lers, cooling systems, micro-nutrient systems

Examples of Lignin Products and Uses

Acetaldehyde (raw material for other chemi-cals e.g. binding agent for paints and dyes)Acetic acid (raw material for plastics, blea-ching agent, preservation) Ethylacetate(paints, dyes, plastics, and rubber)

Ethanol 95% (foods, pharmaceuticals, fuelethanol, detergents)Thermol (cold medium for refrigeration unitsand heat pumps) (SEKAB, 2007)

Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol) (spirits industry,cosmetics, print colours and varnish)Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), Ethyl acetate (EAC),WABCO-antifreeze (disinfectant, cleaningagent for electronic devices, solvents)Vinasse, Potassium Sulphate (feeding stuffs,fertilizer) (KWST, 2007)


Elsewhere in Europe, there are at present (March2007) 73 bioethanol petrol stations in Germany ser-ving E50, E85 or E100. Morrisons Supermarket chainin the UK supply E85, available from 14 forecourts inthe South of England (see photo on the left) marke-ted at 2 pence below petrol. However, the bioetha-nol for Morrisons is supplied from Futura Petroleums,which all comes from Brazilian fuel stocks. Despitethe distances involved, it is still competitive to importbioethanol from across the Atlantic instead of produ-cing it locally.

The graph above shows the leading countries in bioe-thanol fuel stations in Europe. Sweden is by far andaway the largest proponent for bioethanol as a tran-sport fuel. France and Germany are progressingfaster than most, and the rest of Europe sell E85 atonly a handful of service stations often to support pri-vate vehicles such as police or governmental fleetsaround the more densely populated areas. In 2007,a substantial increase can be expected in some ofthese countries, especially in France where thegovernment has mandated the introduction of 500-600 E85 service stations.

Stakeholders in the Bioethanol Fuel Market:

In addition supermarkets who operate petrol stationsare seeing the opportunity to provide petrol/ethanolblends from 5-85% (E5-E85). Even though mostexperts agree that up to a 10% mix will not damagemodern car engines, the manufacturer warranty forstandard cars is set at 5%. To maintain the warrantythe car engines need to be modified to support higherproportion fuel mixes or one has to buy a fuel flexi-ble vehicle (FFV, also known as a flex-fuel vehicle).

Fuel ethanol in EuropeSweden is the strongest in the bioethanol transportmarket with over 912 E85 (BAFF, March 2007) fuelstations and 15,000 Ford Focus FFVs have been soldsince it's debut on the Swedish market in 2001. ByMay 2006, 15% of all newly sold cars were eitherbioethanol or biogas fuelled vehicles. E85 is beingsold at prices substantially less than petrol, between75 and 85 € cents per litre compared to 1.11 € and1.19 € for petrol. An important consideration whenmarketing the price of bioethanol is the fact thatethanol contains around 30% less energy per litrethan petrol which means you have to fill up more fre-quently. Therefore the sale price will have an impor-tant impact on take-up of bioethanol as a transportfuel.

E85 Pump station Morrisons PLC

farmersbioethanol producersfuel supplierscar manufacturersthe government - support is also extremelyimportant as was the case in Brazil in the late1970s and in the USA today bioethanol has beenendorsed by the President and helped by subsi-dies and tax breakstransport users

Fuel Energy Content(kJ per litre)

Petrol 32 389

Diesel 35 952

Ethanol 21 283

E85 22 950

The map and figures below gives you a brief overviewof the bioethanol fuel market and the density of E85stations in comparison with petrol stations. The num-ber of service stations per 10,000 persons gives auseful comparison. While the total number of petrolstations has declined dramatically over the last 20years, being half or even one third of what they once


were, the bioethanol stations are still very low incomparison as they are now just entering into opera-tion in Western Europe with the exception of Sweden.In Sweden, the first E85 filling station appeared in1995 but steady expansion started only in 2002(Saab, 2006).


reduction in CO2 emissions compared with the petrolversion.

The Focus FFV, and C-MAX although released in 2001in Sweden, only became available in the UK inSeptember 2005 and it is still yet to be released tothe dealerships in the UK on a large scale. Howeverit has enjoyed substantial success in the Swedish carmarket since its introduction. Swedish car marker,Volvo, has two models that run on bioethanol, thosebeing the S40 (see below) and V50. Neither of themare, as yet, widely available in countries outsideSweden.

Saab has a 9-5 biofuel saloon and estate model (seenext page) that can run on E85. There are a smallnumber of these Biopower models available at selec-ted dealerships in the South and East of Englandwhere there is a small E85 fuel pump infrastructurevia the Morrisons supermarket chain. Saab has in2006 produced a bio-hybrid electric engine that willwork on E100, first shown at the Stockholm motorshow and based on the Saab 9-3 model. By the endof 2007, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen will have theirown fuel-flexible vehicle ready for the market in linewith the government's mandated E85 infrastructureplans for 2007.

Transport Fuel in the USADepending on the state policy and natural resources,E85 is being used to a varying degree across moststates. Some states where E85 service stations arefewer in number serves E85 only to governmentaland private fleets such as in parts of California, whe-reas there is a very impressive publicly available E85infrastructure around the American corn belt (Iowa,Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin,South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio andKentucky) which is shown by the blue, grey andbrown colours in the following map.

Manufacturers of bioethanol fuellingvehiclesFord are the only mass producer of Flexi-fuel vehiclesin Europe, led by the Focus and C-Max models. Saaband Volvo started offering an alternative from 2005and 2006, respectively, with their Flex-fuel bioetha-nol cars. Both Swedish companies in fact offer a bio-gas fuelled model as well. Scania has also a series ofE85 fuelled buses and trucks.

The USA has already a large number of car manufac-turers selling fuel-flexible vehicles: Ford, Chrysler,General Motors, Isuzu, Mazda, Mercedes, Mercuryand Nissan. And in Brazil the companies Fiat, Ford,General Motors, PSA, Renault, Volkswagen serve thenational E85 vehicle needs.

The Ford Focus FFV (see above and left) has beenmarketed around the same price as the basic petrolmodel. The commercial potential of the car has recei-ved a boost by the Avon and Somerset (UK) Policewho bought 15 of the fuel flexible Focus' in March2006. Further interest has been shown by otherregional police forces throughout the UnitedKingdom. The advantage is that they are still able torefuel from petrol at any percentage, thus not limi-ting their range to where the bioethanol pump infra-structure does not reach. Ford reports there is a 70%

E85 Filling Stations in the USA (EERE, US Departmentof Energy, March 2007)

Ford Focus, Ford Motor Company

S40 FFV Volvo, Volvo

Fuel CellsFuel cells are another potential area for ethanol useto produce heat and power. Fuel cells function bycombining the fuel hydrogen with oxygen from theair to produce electrical energy, with water vapourand heat as by-products. Fuel Cells have a typicalelectrical efficiency of between 30 and 60 % and anoverall efficiency, if using the heat by-product, of 70-90 %. The units run with very low noise emissionsand pollutant gas emissions are also reduced consi-derably. It's disadvantages are its relatively high costand their short life span (regular replacement ofcomponents). They are, however, regarded as veryreliable for the duration of their lifespan and are oftenused for emergency power. Some uses of fuel cellCHP systems include providing heat and power forhospitals, university campus', remote telecommuni-cation stations as well as for transport, stationarypower generation and residential buildings. Therecent growth in small residential (0.5 to 10 kWe)fuel cell CHP is based on natural gas fuelled units.


A number of fuel cells can use bioethanol as well asfossil fuels, sometimes with, sometimes without theneed for a reformer (to convert it to hydrogen).Acumentrics (USA) and Ceramic Fuel Cells (Australia)manufacture such fuel cells.

The ideal situation is where one uses pure hydrogenas the fuel. This creates energy and water vapour asproducts - as is demonstrated in the PEMFC diagram.However many fuel cell units are designed to takefossil fuels like natural gas, propane, methanol orbutane. Here CO2 is produced in addition to watervapour. The obvious advantage is the fuel flexibilityand equally obvious in the disadvantage of emittingCO2.

Acumentrics manufacture a fuel cell suitable for resi-dential and other small-scale use with 5 and 10 kWecapacities. They can be set to 120 or 240 voltsdepending on needs. The start up time is from 10 to30 minutes. The fuelling options are impressive as itcan take propane, natural gas, ethanol, methanol,methane and hydrogen. Sulzer Hexis are responsiblefor the majority of SOFC installations in the world.They are working on a CHP system, 1 kWe, 2.5 kWthwith an additional burner to provide for the heatrequirements of the home.

Types of Fuel Cell:

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) aka Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFC) Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC)

Fuel Cell Today - PEMCF energy exchangediagram

Saab 9-5 Biopower, www.ethanol360.com

AcumentricsSulzer Hexis


6. BIOETHANOL ENGINEERING COMPANIES

The complexity of a bioethanol plant is considerable and it therefore requires dedicated planning and expertiseto build one, so the majority of bioethanol plants are built upon specification by a contracted engineering com-pany (specialising in bioethanol), rather than by purchasing individual component units (Details of individualcomponent manufacturers can be found in a number of publications such as the Sugar Industry Buyers Guide,Spring 2006). Firms that provide the complete design to construction service are listed below.

Company Country Website Email Address Phone Number Fax Number

Vogelbusch GMBH AT [email protected]@[email protected]

+43 1 54 661-0+852 2314 3030+1 713 461 7374

+43 1 545 29 79+852 2314 0369+1 713 461 7374

Lurgi DE www.lurgi.com [email protected] +49 69 58 08-0 +49 69 58 08-38 88

GEA Wiegand DE www.gea-wiegand.com [email protected] +49 7243/705-0 +49 7243/705-330

TECNIA PT www.tecnia.net [email protected] +351 261 912 470/1+966 1 218 1460

+351 261 912 472+966 1 218 1461

ChematurEngineering SE www.chematur.se [email protected] +46 586 641 00 +46 586 791 700

Bayer TechnologyServices DE www.bayertechnology.com

[email protected]@[email protected]

+49 214 30-50100+49 214/30-1+32 3 540 79 92+86 21 67 120 280+1 877 229 37 87

+32 3 540 37 78+86 21 67 120 393

Delta-T Corp. US www.deltatcorp.com [email protected] +1 757 220-2955 +1 757 229-1705

Praj Industries India www.praj.net [email protected] +91 20 229 515 11 +91 20 229 517 18

MW Zander UK/DE www.mw-zander.co.uk [email protected] +44 1249 455 150 +44 1249 657 995

Parker, Messana &Associated, Inc. US www.pma-engr.com +1 253 926 0884 +1 253 926 0886

BBI International US www.bbibiofuels.com [email protected] +1 719 539 0300 +1 719 539 0301

7. POLITICS & CONCLUDING REMARKS

PoliticsThe Biofuels Progress Report (Brussels, [9.1.2007]COM(2006) 845 final) from the Commission has sta-ted that it doesn't expect the biofuels target of 5.75% to be met by 2010. The average EU member stateachieved 52% of its target in 2005 where only twomember states met their target of 2% biofuels in thenational mix (Sweden and Germany). Although bio-fuels are not the most cost effect fuel, they are theonly practical means for reducing the EU's dependen-ce on oil. It should be said that the production of bio-fuels does not automatically equate in CO2 savings asit depends on the land management employed. If theenergy crop has replaced natural rain forest theeffects would be negative not only on CO2 sequestra-tion but also on native biodiversity and habitat areas.The energy crops need to be thoughtfully planted onappropriate land. Responsible bioethanol productioncan provide diversification of energy supply andenergy security while also creating employment inthe many process jobs involved in the industry.

Further actions to reduce emissions in the EU werereinforced by the European Commission's call forvehicle manufactures to reduce car CO2 emissions to120g/km by 2012 from 2004 levels of 163g/km. Therole of bioethanol for transport fuels could also makean important impact on CO2 reduction from the tran-sport sector. The technology side is seen as a criticalarea for reducing transport CO2 as it is acknowledgedthat mobility, in the EU, will certainly not decreasebut increase with time.


Concluding RemarksThe opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,while reducing CO2 is of strategic importance today.Since there is increased consensus among experts onthe reality of human induced global warming and therepercussions which are associated with it, thepotential to use carbon friendly fuels like bioethanolcan help us prevent (or slow down) this negativeimpact on the environment. As long as the plantationof the bioethanol feed stocks are done in a sustaina-ble way without compromising native species habi-tats and endangering the local biodiversity, there isno reason why bioethanol cannot be one of the ener-gy solutions for today.

The potential for bioethanol to create jobs is immen-se in farming, biorefineries, the chemical industry,the fuel supply sector as well as fuel-flexible vehicleengineering. The economic climate is ripe for inve-sting in bioethanol production in Europe mostly forfuel ethanol but also for the chemical use and statio-nary power generation. The bioethanol by-productsprovide a useful side revenue through feedstocks foranimal feed, power generation and as a feedstock inthe chemical industry. The first few commercial scaleLignocellulosic bioethanol plants should appear in thenext few years, however, it will be a long time befo-re they can start to replace the 1st generation interms of production. Range fuels (USA) hopes tobegin construction of a 380m litre/year plant inSeptember 2007 (Bioenergy Business, August 2007).However, we should keep in mind the opportunitiesalready available in Europe with present 1st genera-tion crops and especially with higher yielding andmore promising crops like Sweet Sorghum if the EUis to meet it’s 10% biofuels target by 2020.


8. PROJECT OVERVIEW

The project aims at developing and implementing a concise, well-targeted and thematic approach to ensure theuptake of selected RES technologies in the market. In other words the consortium works towards establishing atechnology marketing campaign for the different RE technologies involved. So far the market uptake of R&Dresults does not happen in the best possible way. Lack of information and use of synergies between stakehol-ders (industries, governments, consumers) is still seen as the critical barrier to large-scale RE technology use inthe market place. RESTMAC aims to reverse this trend by:

A sectoral approach with the objective of promotion and valorization of selected technologies with rele-vant and strong socio-economic potential;A geographical approach with the identification of key market areas where those technologies first selec-ted could be largely deployed.

More specifically the project will look at renewable electricity technologies, renewable heating and coolingtechnologies and thirdly, the production and distribution of liquid biofuels. A key objective of the project is alsoto target new member states in the EU, the Mediterranean area and European Islands meaning, and along withAsian states where there is significant potential for RES which is as yet un-harnessed. For more information visitthe website:

www.erec-renewables.org/47.0.html

The renewable energy sectors to be marketed include:

PV (photovoltaic) SHP (Small Hydro Power) Biomass Geothermal Solar Thermal Wind Power

The biomass part of the project focuses on some selected areas that have great potential for the European bio-mass market and energy sector. EUBIA is responsible for brochures number 4 and 5 while AEBIOM is responsi-ble for the other three:

1. Pellets for Small-scale Domestic Heating Systems2. New Dedicated Energy Crops for Solid Biofuels3. Procurement of Forest Residues4. Co-generation at Small-scale5. Bioethanol Production and Use

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